The 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Virginia and rolled through much of the east coast Tuesday caused more inconvenience than damage. Case in point: though no cellphone towers were knocked out, high call volume meant massive service interruptions for users of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.
But one cellphone-based service managed to work as normal, according to Bloomberg: RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger.
BBM, which can run on either a phone’s data connection or local Wi-fi, and uses unique wireless protocols, has gained a reputation for reliability and security. In the Chilean earthquake of 2010, and in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in New York, it was the only service left standing.
In London earlier this month, BBM was deemed a little too reliable and secure: it was the primary method for rioters to communicate and coordinate. RIM’s unwitting role in the riots has come under scrutiny from the UK government.
But on a day when the carriers have all experienced what one Sprint spokesman called “an intermittent mass calling event”, and the Department of Homeland Security advised that we not try to call family members on the east coast, RIM has added a much-needed sheen to its reputation.
Its stock closed a dollar higher in late New York trading — not a huge bump, but considering RIM’s share price is off 53% this year overall, not to mention the fact that BlackBerry has slipped to third place in the smartphone market, the company will take what it can get.
More About: bbm, blackberry, smartphonesFor more Mobile coverage:Follow Mashable Mobile on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Mobile channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:12:09 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/fdnOoV31wvA/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/23/earthquake-calling-crisis-blackberry/#comments
But one cellphone-based service managed to work as normal, according to Bloomberg: RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger.
BBM, which can run on either a phone’s data connection or local Wi-fi, and uses unique wireless protocols, has gained a reputation for reliability and security. In the Chilean earthquake of 2010, and in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in New York, it was the only service left standing.
In London earlier this month, BBM was deemed a little too reliable and secure: it was the primary method for rioters to communicate and coordinate. RIM’s unwitting role in the riots has come under scrutiny from the UK government.
But on a day when the carriers have all experienced what one Sprint spokesman called “an intermittent mass calling event”, and the Department of Homeland Security advised that we not try to call family members on the east coast, RIM has added a much-needed sheen to its reputation.
Its stock closed a dollar higher in late New York trading — not a huge bump, but considering RIM’s share price is off 53% this year overall, not to mention the fact that BlackBerry has slipped to third place in the smartphone market, the company will take what it can get.
More About: bbm, blackberry, smartphonesFor more Mobile coverage:Follow Mashable Mobile on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Mobile channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:12:09 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/fdnOoV31wvA/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/23/earthquake-calling-crisis-blackberry/#comments
